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Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Alliance Welcomes Automated Intelligence

Automated Intelligence has joined the Microsoft (News - Alert) Enterprise Cloud Alliance, providing it the opportunity for a more strategic relationship with the software giant.

The alliance is aimed at companies with expertise in such solutions as Microsoft Azure, Dynamics applications, hosting services, and SQL Server. It was established in late 2007 and now includes more than 150 members. In fact, just last month information management company Veritas Technologies joined the Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Alliance.

As for Automated Intelligence it was founded in 2010 and provides information management software and services designed to help organizations transition to get the most out of Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and SharePoint. Automated Intelligence was recently awarded SQL Server Certification.

The company’s solutions include AI.ANALYTICS, a tool that helps organizations identify cost savings they can realize by better managing their unstructured data via automated information management and governance; AI.ASSURE, a governance, risk, and compliance policy solution for Microsoft SharePoint; AI.CLOUD SERVICES, an intelligent information management solution for Microsoft Azure; AI.COMPLIANCE EXTENDER, an information governance and records management solution; AI.DATAPOINT, which automates and manages the migration of data from current repositories to single consolidated environments in the cloud or on premises;

AI.FILEMANAGER, a secure archive solution; and AI.SYNCPOINT, which integrated Outlook and SharePoint 2010/2013.

Partners like Automated Intelligence help organizations that employ Microsoft products and services to address some of their key pain points and requirements. However, Microsoft continues to work to expand its portfolio and better position itself as a strategic partner and not just a provider of technology for its customers. As I wrote last week, Microsoft’s pending acquisition of social media company LinkedIn could go a long way in helping the software giant do that.

Microsoft wants to make its CRM Dynamics more competitive. LinkedIn (News - Alert) could dramatically change the relevance of Microsoft Dynamics, Christopher Woodin, director of Microsoft sales operations at reseller and systems integrator Softchoice (News - Alert), told me during a recent interview. LinkedIn is valuable to Microsoft not only because it owns the biggest record of business people and a premium version of LinkedIn that sales people use for prospecting, he said, but also because LinkedIn can help Microsoft pivot from selling businesses technology to selling organizations solutions to make them more competitive.